


Honest Enough (not to hide, not to judge)

by Onehelluvapilot



Series: Tumblr prompt fics [45]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Gen, Hurt Gwaine (Merlin), Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Protective Percival (Merlin), Tournaments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:07:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28116678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onehelluvapilot/pseuds/Onehelluvapilot
Summary: Gwaine is injured during a tournament
Relationships: Gwaine & Merlin (Merlin), Gwaine & Percival (Merlin)
Series: Tumblr prompt fics [45]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1922554
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	Honest Enough (not to hide, not to judge)

The Knights of Camelot may have been renowned for their strength, but that didn't mean they looked down on each other for showing weakness. It was the opposite, in fact. Most recognized the separate kind of strength it took to admit one needed help, or simply that they were struggling or hurt. Which was why no one teased Gwaine for his pained tears or the way he curled into himself to protect his injured stomach after he took a hit from a club during a melee.

"Don't touch it, please!" He begged when Merlin tried to get him to unfurl and give him access to the injury. "It hurts…" The physician-assistant's heart nearly broke at the whimper from his friend, who usually tried to put up an image of being carefree and always okay.

"I know, Gwaine, and I'm sorry, but I need to see how bad it is." Hopefully it was just bruised and they could just get him some ice from the royal vaults to bring the swelling down. He wished this explanation was enough to reassure the knight that it was for his own good and convince him to let him see, but it seemed that his self-preservation instincts were too strong and the anticipation of more pain if he opened up too frightening.

"I promise I won't touch it." Still Gwaine didn't move and Merlin bit his lip in consternation. After a second of indecision, he instructed Percival to hold him. "And be careful."

The large knight looked unhappy as he very carefully pressed his friend to lie flat with one hand on his sternum and the other on his hip. Gwaine could have fought him if he tried, as the pain had made him desperate instead of sapping his strength, but it must've hurt too much, as he just strained against Percival's hands. Merlin carefully pulled his chainmail and shirt up to reveal skin already turning black and blue with bruising. Both he and Percival winced in sympathy while Gwaine just tried to breathe through the pain. Without warning, Merlin reached out to palpate his stomach and lower ribs. He tried to be gentle, but the injured knight still jerked against Percival's grip and cried out.

"You said you weren't going to touch it!" He whimpered.

"I lied, sorry. I need you to know if your ribs are broken, or if you're bleeding internally." If he was, conventional medicine wouldn't be enough, like with Morgana's head injury. He would have to use magic to heal him, which was why he was hoping the damage was only skin deep, or at least stopped at the layer of his muscles rather than going through to his organs. "It'll hurt a lot more if you don't let me feel it, and I miss broken ribs and you puncture a lung because we didn't wrap them," he warned, hoping the threat was enough to get him to comply. Normally he admired the knight's stubborn attitude, but right now it was hurting more than it helped. Percival took a firmer grip on him, and Gwaine went as taught as a bowstring but managed to stay still as the physician's assistant gently kneaded his bruised stomach. The abdomen wasn't hard, which was an indication of internal bleeding, and his ribs didn't shift at all under his hands.

"You're lucky. It seems to just be badly bruised," he concluded.

"I don't feel very lucky," Gwaine grumbled.

"No, I don't imagine you do," Merlin said sympathetically, biting back a remark about how if he didn't want to get hurt, he shouldn't voluntarily join a tournament where people hit each other with barely-blunted instruments. Now wasn't the time, and he could save the teasing for Arthur. "Here, Percival and I will help you upstairs to rest."

"Please no," Gwaine said with a groan. "I'm happy staying here in the tent."

Merlin frowned understandingly. He too had felt the kind of pain that made the very concept of moving distasteful to say the least. "I'll bring you some herbs to numb the pain, and we can wait for them to start taking effect before moving you." Gwaine and Percival, who was clearly planning to stay with his injured friend, nodded thankfully. Merlin left to run upstairs and fetch the painkillers, relieved that Gwaine had agreed to take them, and that the Knights of Camelot were honest enough that no one would judge him for doing so.


End file.
